Student+Reflections


 * Thoughts from Students on Our Wikispaces Project**

Please feel free to edit this page to discuss what you have learned from this project, things that you like about it, comments that you have, etc. This page will be referenced at the state conference for technology integration next week. Begin editing by selecting "edit this page."

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 * "I thought the use of technology in the classroom was a brilliant idea. We are a technological group of kids and we all need to be familiar with how to use the web. The site is useful in many more ways than just discussing your current book that you are reading. We have "Lunchrooms" for other great discussions that we can not get into during class due to a time restraint. Next to that we have charts, pages about current assignments, emails from students and teachers, and current event pages to keep up with. I believe wikispaces should be thought about for all core classes so that all students have a way of contacting one another for support. I have used wikispaces for all of its references that Ms. Shubert has provided us. It was an excellent idea and had a great impact and outcome. Hope to see it again next year in my last year of high school."
 * "Participating in wikispaces was definitely the most interesting and resourceful thing I did in school this year. The site is filled with discussions on books, discussions on real life issues, and a continuation of what we are learning inside of the classroom. For example, after reading //Self-Reliance// by Ralph Waldo Emerson, we contributed to the "To Be Great" page with background information and the contributions regarding the people Emerson mentioned. I enjoyed being able to contact Ms. Shubert via wikispaces without worrying about it getting put into her junk mail. I have learned that making wikispaces such a helpful success was a group effort. As a result of my classmates posting literary terms on the "Connections Chart" and discussing their view on the "C and E" stories, the content of english class has gotten easier to understand.
 * "Without a doubt, students my age and younger spend a large amount of time on there computers each day. Though alot of this time is spent sitting on things like Myspace and Facebook, and rarely are those sites ever used for a tool to help eachother in school. This is the first time ever in my highschool career that i've had an opportunity to use some of the time i spend on the computer on class discussions. With technology advancing every day, it is important to take this step for the sake of time, and understanding. This wikispace website offers many tools including class discussions, and links to better understand the current unit we may be on. Also we are able to easily contact our teacher on this site if we have any questions. Though i did not participate in much discussions myself, i often logged on to this site to check things and to be up to date. Using Wikispaces was a great idea, and for a student not to grab ahold of this opportunity is there own fault."
 * "When I first was told about Wikispaces, my first thought was FINALLY, WELCOME TO THE 21st CENTURY!! It really was exciting. I mean, as mentioned in the above comments, our generation of kids is very technological. Everything is about the computer. I guess teachers started noticing the students addiction to the computers and figured they would use it to their advantage. If you can't beat them join them! However, I did begin to think, at first, that Wikispaces would become another Myspace and I wasn't looking forward to that. Now, though, it's really not just another Myspace where kids talk about whatever they want and write however they want. It gets them thinking about the world and the problems being faced today. Not only that but it helps us in our spelling and grammar errors that we use almost all the time in either text messages or on Myspace too. I think, overall, Wikispaces has had an extremely positive effect on the students and I hope that it will remain a part of the curriculum, not only for English, but for other important subjects as well."
 * "Great Resource. It was very convenient to be able to talk to other students about the lessons that were taught at any time of the day quite easily. The idea of having a place where all students could converse about English and gain information easily was great."
 * Initially i though wikispace was going to be a good tool and it turned out to be a great tool! Not only can i stay in contact with my peers about school we can further talk about subjects from class and life outside of school. This wikispace site provides us an oppurtunity to expand our minds beyond the confines of the school walls. This is a society we created togther and one we must take care of. Nearly everything needed to be successful in english and more is posted in this wikispace. I feel happy that i have the oppurtunity to be a part of it
 * "The first thought that came across my mind, was great more work! But as time went on i realized the potential of wikispaces. It's a community where students can easily access notes and discuss currrent issues in the classroom. This network of students has definitely created a great learning tool. It's like the notetaking of the future, and no one has to worry about calling this person, or talking to the teacher after class. We simply log in and do it ourselves. It's a great way to experience a little independence through our education."
 * When I first heard that we were going to be using Wikispaces as part of our curriculum I was kind of scared because I’m not that great with computers and all of this technology. As we began to use Wikispaces however, I realized that it is actually pretty easy to use. Wikispaces has helped a lot throughout this school year. If ever I needed help with anything such as how to make proper citations or reinforce material learned in the classroom, Wikispaces was the first place I looked to go. I’m glad that I got a chance to be a part of this site and discuss the material with not only my classmates but with Honors 11 English students across the board.
 * “I think that Wikispaces is a very good source for students. We have resources for APA citations, background for the units we discuss, notes, definitions, and other useful sources. Wikispaces is also a good time saver in the classroom with the literary circle discussions and lunch room topics. I also think Wikispaces is a good place to explore the English curriculum outside of the classroom with the same resources as inside the classroom.”
 * "I think that it was an okay idea. The only thing that I did not like about the wikispaces idea was that I'm not used to using the wikispaces. This caused me to struggle when their were assignments related to wikispaces, because I'm not that familiar with using them. Even though I've had this wikispace for about 7 months I'm still struggling with all the applications and etc. Other than that I find a webpage like this very useful, especially since it has a lot of imformation that students can use for example the scholarship information."
 * "When I first learned what Wikispaces was about and that we would be using it in English this year, I was excited. I liked the thought of being able to come home at night and to still have a connection to my class. I use the student resources page often because of the APA citations link that helps me to cite my sources in papers. I also enjoyed being able to discuss the literature circle books with my classmates through the use of a discussion board. Wikispaces is a tool that is not only useful for English, but for my other classes as well."
 * "I was so excited when I heard that we would be using wikispaces. It is a great way to discuss and analyze something without having to have a lecture or written work. It is more fun, exciting and is more flexible. Wikispaces is such a good tool that other classes I am in began to use it. The 21st century technology is about quickness and convenience that allows people to collaborate together to make it easier, take the student resources page for example. Without it, reviewing for a test would have been much more difficult, almost ancient. Wikispaces allowed for a new way of learning that was more fun and efficient.”